Tuesday 23 July 2013

Pixi Glow Tonic - Review

Hello Lovelies

Today I am going to tell you all about Pixi Glow Tonic, if you read blogs and watch You Tube Video's you will most probably have heard of this product, it is safe to say it is a bit of a cult product amongst the beauty world, but is it worth the hype?

 I have been using the Pixi Glow Tonic for around 6 weeks now and before using this I had used the
 Clarins Exfoliating Brightening Toner which is a similar product.

    The Clarins is £25 for 125ml and the Pixi is £16 for 250ml but unfortunately Pixi Glow Tonic is only sold at the Pixi store in London or is available via mail order by ringing the store and ordering over the telephone which is how I order mine. I have heard people have had trouble either getting through to the store or the product not being in stock but I have ordered twice now and got through straight away and ordered, the postage is £4.50 ( for 1st class postage) but it still works out cheaper than Clarins. The Pixi Glow Tonic is not tested on animals. Since first posting this the Glow Tonic is now sold on the Pixi website available here



Pixi Glow Tonic rrp £16


Pixi Glow Tonic is a an alcohol and oil free astringent toner, it contains aloe and witch hazel to smooth and tone the skin and glycolic acid to loosen the dead skin and exfoliate. The glow tonic claims to "firm and tighten the skin, remove dead skin cells and is for dry, dull and ageing skin"


I highly recommend this toner, my skin looks and feels so much better, I have very dry skin but think this would be good for all skin types, I apply this by using a cotton pad and sweep it all over my face, morning and evening after cleansing. The glow tonic doesn't dry my skin out, it leaves my skin feeling soft and it has helped so much with the dry patches on my face. My skin does feel firmer and my pesky fine lines do seem to look a little better, and my skin is so much brighter too, over all I have noticed a massive difference to my skin and I am really pleased with the results, so much so I rang and ordered another bottle last week as I can't bare to run out. 

I like the pump on the bottle, I prefer pumps rather than just pouring the product out onto a cotton pad, I feel I use too much that way so much prefer the pump. 

Overall this is an amazing product which I feel is most definitely worth the hype surrounding it, if you are looking for a toner which doesn't dry the skin out, leaves it feeling smooth and looking brighter, helps with sun damage and fine lines this is the product for you. I have very sensitive skin and eczema prone skin and have had no reactions whatsoever to the glow tonic. It is a welcome addition to my skin care routine which I will have a full post about soon. 

Is this product worth the hype? Absolutely YES! Try it, you won't be disappointed.

Have you tried the Pixi Glow Tonic, what are your thoughts? 

You can buy the Pixi Glow Tonic mail order by ringing 020 7287 7211 or emailing storemanager@pixibeauty.com or in person by visiting the Pixi store just off Carnaby Street in London. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always

Zoe x
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Monday 22 July 2013

First Impressions - Korres Wild Rose Brightening and Line Smoothing Serum

Hello Lovelies

If you read my recent first impressions post on the Eve Lom Cleanser you will know that I was contacted recently by a lovely lady from the Look Fantastic PR team regarding working with me, as a result the lady kindly sent me some samples to try and review on my blog, some samples were single use and others were multiple use and one was full size. I decided that I would use the single use samples to do some first impressions posts, I always enjoy reading first impressions posts as I feel first impressions are very important. 

One of the single use samples I received was the Korres Wild Rose Brightening And Line Smoothing Serum I have read a lot about Korres products but only ever tried one of their Mango Lip Butters which is an amazing product. Every year for our summer holidays we go to one of the Greek Islands and Korres is sold in almost every pharmacy and supermarket we go in and I always look at the products there and also in the airport on the way home, and then kick myself for not picking anything up. 

I was really excited when I saw the sample of the serum and couldn't wait to try it, I have very dry skin so serums are a must for me and this one has the added benefits of being line smoothing and brightening, I couldn't wait to see if the serum lived up to it's name. 



My sample of the serum*


I used the serum morning and night after cleansing and toning my face using my usual skin care, and I have to say I was blown away by this product, the texture wasn't runny as most serums I have tried have been, it was thicker but not at all balm like, it was still a runny, almost lotion type texture but slightly thicker.

The serum felt divine to apply, it was really lovely and made my skin feel amazing, it felt so soft and hydrated instantly, and it did look brighter too, the serum smells amazing which is really important to me, my medication seems to have affected my sense of smell and I cannot bare some scents but this had a subtle fruity scent to it but not over powering at all and it didn't linger. 
Image taken from the Look Fantastic Website


The Korres Wild Rose Brightening And Line Smoothing Serum contains wild rose oil and is a concentrated serum which helps to add brightness and radiance to your skin. The serum is enriched with baobab tree polysaccharides and contains and active ingredient derived from wheat proteins which is clinically proven to reduce considerably the number, depth and length of wrinkles. The serum can be applied alone or before moisturiser and after cleansing. 

My First Impressions Of The Serum Are

My skin felt instantly hydrated
My skin felt smooth
The serum was lovely to apply
The serum sank into the skin nicely
My skin looked brighter with the first application
My skin looked radiant and glowing
My skin looked and felt amazing 
A little went a long way 

I absolutely loved this serum and even though I only used it twice I would definitely say I would purchase this product in a heartbeat, if I got results like that from only 2 uses can you imagine what my skin would look and feel like after a week or a month? I loved this product and on first impressions would go as far as to say, try it especially if you have dry, dehydrated or dull skin. I suffer from eczema and have very sensitive skin and my skin didn't react badly at all to this product. 

The Korres Wild Rose Brightening And Line Smoothing Serum is available here 

I hope you enjoyed my first impressions post of this product, I really enjoyed using the sample and would definitely purchase the full size product, have you tried the Korres serum or any of the Korres skin care? What were your thoughts? 

Thank you for reading, much love as always

Zoe x


*pr sample
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Sunday 14 July 2013

Eve Lom Cleanser - First Impressions

Hello Lovelies

If you have been reading my blog or watching my You tube channel for a while now you will know I absolutely love the website Look Fantastic, I buy almost all my skin care and hair care from there and am always mentioning the site in my video's especially haul video's because I get most of my beauty products from there.

Recently Look Fantastic tweeted asking for people to email them if you would like to write a guest post for their blog, I emailed, but thought because I am still fairly new to blogging that I wouldn't be accepted. However, a couple of weeks ago I received a lovely email from a lady at Look Fantastic, not offering for me to guest post but even better than that, to say she loved my blog and that Look Fantastic wanted to work with me and that they thought I would be a great asset to their blogging community and would like me to review the products they sell on their web site. I was absolutely thrilled as you can imagine, I never dreamed I would be accepted to write a guest post so being asked to work with Look Fantastic and review their products was a massive honour for me and I am very grateful. 

On Friday I received a lovely package from Look Fantastic containing a full size product which I will review once I have used it for a couple of weeks so I can give a thorough 

review, but also 6 sample size products, some single use samples and some larger samples. I decided I would use the single use samples to write first impression blog posts, I enjoy reading first impression posts and hope you will too. 

The first single use sample I am going to tell you about is the Eve Lom Cleanser*, probably one of the most talked about cleansers in the beauty world and quoted by Vogue to be "probably the best cleanser in the world" 


Eve Lom Single Use Sample 


 The product when opened up


  Some of the cleanser on my hand 

I applied the cleanser all over my face and then followed the instructions on the back of the sachet which were to run the muslin cloth under hot water and place over my face three times, I did this as insructed and then removed the cleanser with the cloth folded over as the instuctions stated.

The cleanser is a balmy/oily texture with little beads for exfoliation, I have very dry and sensitive/eczema prone skin and I didn't experience any stinging when using the cleanser. The cleanser left my skin feeling soft and silky and hydrated, I have very dry skin and it didn't feel at all tight after using the cleanser. 

There are many products available in the Eve Lom Skin Care range from cuticle cream to spot treatment with many great products inbetween, I will definitely be checking out the other products in the range. 

The Eve Lom cleanser comes in different sizes including the 100ml cleanser including 3 muslin cloths rrp £69, or 100ml cleanser without the muslin cloths rrp £55, 200ml rrp £85 without the muslin cloths or 200ml including 3 muslin cloths rrp £99 the muslin cloths are available to buy alone rrp £14.

The cleanser is suitable for all skin types and used with the muslin cloth included is said to remove even the most stubborn make up whilst decongesting, exfoliating and toning the skin. It contains clove oil with purifying properties to encourage clear skin, eucalyptus oil helps to drain away toxins whilst hops oil tones the skin, and Egyptian chamomile oil and cocoa butter soften and condition the skin.

 There are many products in the Eve Lom range, if you use some of the other Eve Lom products but haven't yet tried the cleanser, Look Fantastic have a brilliant offer on at the moment, and if you spend £30 on any Eve Lom products you will receive a free sample of the cleanser and a muslin cloth, this is an ideal way to try the cleanser if you haven't already but use some of the other Eve Lom products, also free next day delivery is available when spending over £45 which is also amazing, I love offers that include free next day delivery as I am very impatient and when I have ordered something online I can't wait for it to come.

My first impressions of the Eve Lom cleanser are 

It left my skin feeling clean and clear
My skin felt soft and silky
My skin felt hydrated and smooth
My skin didn't feel tight or dry

Over all I have good first impressions of the Eve Lom cleanser, my skin felt lovely after using it and I haven't had any sort of reaction either, and my skin is extremely sensitive and has been known to react to many skin care products.

If you would like to take a look at the Eve Lom skin care range or any other products on the Look Fantastic website you can browse the Look Fantastic website here

Have you used the Look Fantastic website? Or are you like me and have it listed on your favourites so you can just nip over and browse or in my case buy. Have you tried the Eve Lom cleanser? What were/are your thoughts?

Thank you for reading, much love as always,

Zoe x



*pr sample












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Wednesday 10 July 2013

My picks from ASOS Curve

Hello Lovelies

As you know I buy 99% of my clothes online, and recently I have been really loving the clothes on ASOS and in particular their Curve range so I thought I would share with you some of my favourite pieces at the moment.

ASOS Curve is a clothing range for plus size ladies, the clothes start at a size 18 and go up to a size 28  and as well as having their own label they also sell New Look Inspire and Little Mistress Curvy. New Look Inspire sizes range from a size 18 up to a size 28 and Little Mistress Curvy sizes range from a size 18 to a size 24. 

So now on to some of the pieces I have been loving, I have to warn you this is going to be a picture heavy post, I hope you enjoy it. 


ASOS Skater Dress in Summer Multi Print
£45

I love this dress and I think I am going to order it to wear for Nichole's graduation ceremony, I am thinking of picking out one of the colours and getting a nice cardigan in case it is a little bit chilly and also buying some wedge sandals to go with it.


ASOS Skater Dress in Mint
£22

I also love this dress, I am so sorry I'm not going on holiday this year, most if not all of my evening holiday outfits would have come from ASOS if I was, this being one of them, I love mint green and this dress is perfect for summer either at home or on holiday. I would pair this with some flat sandals or ballet pumps for a nice summery day look or sandals or wedges for an evening look.


ASOS Skater Dress in Green
£13 - Sale Price was £22

I love this dress, it also comes in Berry and Navy, the lovely jersey material would move well and I think this dress could be dressed up with heels or wedges for an evening out or meal or dressed down with a denim jacket and sandals or converse for a shopping trip.


ASOS Smock Dress in Black/White Spot
£25

I really like this dress but I'm not sure if it would suit me, what do you think? I love it and it is sitting in my saved basket on ASOS, I'm not sure if I'm far too old and far too chunky but I do love it, I would wear this with either sandals, wedges or converse pumps. 


Little Miss Curvy Lace Body Skater Multi 
£52

This dress is from the Little Miss Curvy range, it is lovely and perfect for an evening occasion, this would look lovely with black heels.


ASOS Peg Trousers in Geo Print
£22

These trousers are a great piece for daytime or evening, they could be dressed up with heels and a clutch or dressed down with sandals, wedges or converse, I have these trousers in a floral print, you can see them here and they are extremely comfortable. They look really nice and I always receive lots of compliments whenever I wear them. 


ASOS Jersey Culotte in Floral Multi
£15

I really like these culottes and again I think they could be dressed up or down, I would wear them with sandals or converse for a dressed down look and wedges or heels for a dressed up look, I think they are versatile and could be worn for shopping or an evening out either at home or on holidays.


ASOS Skater Skirt in Pansy Print
£9.50 Sale Price Was £16

I love this skirt, the only thing I am worried about is the length, although it states online that the model is 5ft 11" and I am 5ft 5" so it wouldn't be as short on me, I could always put some leggings under it if it was too short. I would pair this with sandals or ballet pumps for a daytime look and heels for a night time look. 

So there are all my picks from ASOS Curve range, I could have shown you at least another 8 pieces but I might do another post like this if you would like me to showing my other picks from ASOS and also other online places I shop in?  I think ASOS Curve is brilliant for plus size fashion, it can be hard finding pieces that are on trend but I feel ASOS has it right and I never struggle to find items I love on the ASOS site and already own quite a few pieces, I have never had a problem with anything I have bought from ASOS.  Nichole's boyfriend Adam has a premier membership where he pays £9.95 for the full year meaning he gets next day delivery every time he orders, this a fantastic idea and I wish more online sites did this, me, Nichole and Adam order a lot from ASOS so we save a fortune on delivery using the premier membership, it is definitely worth signing up for if you haven't already. 

I would definitely recommend ASOS curve for plus size fashion, the regular range does go up to a size 18 but to be honest I find most things I like in the Curve section, ASOS is a brilliant site, they sell everything from shoes to tweezers and there really is something for everyone. 

If you would like to shop at ASOS the link is
www.asos.com

Do you shop on ASOS? Have you bought anything from the Curve range? What are your favourite pieces out of my picks? 

Thank you for reading, much love as always 

Zoe x

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Monday 8 July 2013

A Bargain Essie Polish? Don't Mind If I Do

Hello Lovelies

I'm sure you all know by now that I have a quite a collection building of Essie nail polishes, Essie has become the brand of nail polish I own the most of and is the brand I always check for new collections etc. I used to own mostly Orly and Essie with a few other brands thrown into the mix but Essie has definitely become a firm favourite of mine over the last few months. 

The only problem I have with Essie is the price, it is brilliant now Boots and Superdrug sell them rather than me ordering from Beauty Bay online but I still don't really like paying £7.99 for a nail polish, it is rather expensive, especially for a 'drugstore' brand. 

Recently when looking online for a L'oreal nail polish when I came across Essie on a website called Fragrance Direct, now you're probably thinking, whats so great about that Zoe? Well I shall tell you, the thing thats so great about Fragrance Direct selling Essie polishes is that they are £1.99 yes you read that right £1.99! I  couldn't believe it, a whole £6.00 cheaper than in other stores and online shops. 

I decided this was too good an opportunity to pass up and looked at the colours on offer, there wasn't a massive choice of colours, probably around 8 to 10 colours but there was definitely something for everyone, and there was definitely something for little old me. 

I finally settled on a shade called Off The Shoulder and as always I went onto google images to check out swatches as I find it hard to tell how a colour will be from the little round spot of colour websites use to show the shade of the nail polish. After seeing swatches on google I was sold. 



Off The Shoulder is a lovely pink shade, I would describe it as a cross between a Barbie pink and a Bubble Gum pink, it is lovely. I placed my order on a Monday and it arrived on Thursday morning, I paid £2.99 delivery as I had ordered other items too, but there is a cheaper option of £1.99 postage which takes 5 to 7 days according to the website. 

As soon as the polish came I couldn't wait to try it out, the colour looked lovely and I was hoping it would transfer onto my nails as nicely as it looked in the bottle. I wasn't disappointed, I used my Orly base coat and then applied 3 coats of the Off The Shoulder polish, I always use 3 coats of Essie polish as I find it gives the best finish for me. Essie polishes last at least 7 days on me and I always use my Orly Bonder Base Coat and Orly Glosser or Polished top coat.



Essie Off The Shoulder
3 Coats plus Orly Glosser Top Coat


I love this colour, it is perfect for summer and I think will be a lovely colour for toes too, it is summery and girlie without screaming Barbie Girl at you and for £1.99 it is an absolute bargain! I would have happily paid £7.99 for this polish in Boots or Superdrug. I was also pleasantly surprised to find the brush is the wider brush that comes with the diffusion line in Boots and Superdrug, I prefer the wider brush and was pleased when I opened the polish to find it had the wider brush. 

I checked Fragrance Direct before writing this post and they have 5 Essie polishes available at the moment and all 5 colours are popular colours, I quite fancy We're In It Together, but for now I think I might just have enough summer colours, but if you fancy picking up a bargain Essie polish for just £1.99 head over to www.fragrancedirect.co.uk and grab yourself a bargain, especially if your like me and can't resist an Essie nail polish. 

Have you picked up any Essie polishes from Fragrance Direct? What's your favourite Essie Shade? 

Thank you for reading, much love as always,

Zoe x
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